So, the next venue of patent trolling has just been opened. Apple has patented - quite specifically - the wedge shape of the MacBook Air. Not the general design or impression, no - just the wedge shape. This is interesting, because that wedge shape? Hit prior art in 3.2 seconds: the Vaio x505 from 2004. A wedge-shaped, superthin (for its day) laptop - exactly what Apple's design patent claims the company has invented.

Zenbooks yes, but I remember Dynamism.com selling ultrabooks at least a few years before the MBA was even announced. One in particular that I was interested in had a flip-up DVD drive under the keyboard; you lifted the keyboard itself via a latch and inserted a disc. The entire laptop was under four pounds and had a very fast processor/graphics combo for what it was and for the era. And it was wedge-shaped. It was either a Sony or Fujitsu if memory serves.